I am planning a couple of family oriented rafting trips that have lakes involved. I have seen a few different threads that mentioned the combination of Rafts and Outboards so I figured I would start one up to discuss.

I just purchased an outboard mount for my raft and although it is not rated for large engines it will handle up to a 9.9hp motor. Most of my river days with the raft are centered around my two little kids now, and since they have the attention span of a whitewater gnat the lake paddle out can be a nightmare.

Anyone used motors on rafts?

I figured that the electric trolling motors would work, they even make a High output model, but to be quite honest, I don't want to lug around a couple of deep cell batteries and /or solar panels. Check out the Torquedo! http://www.torqeedo.com/us/electric-outboards/cruise-t-tiller-controlled-dinghies-motor-boats-sailboats-up-to-4-tons

While that is cool and all if you want to lug around all the gear it seems unreasonable for a raft... But then I started thinking, what about Gas 2 or 4 stroke motors. They are about the same weight, but you have to lug around a bunch of gas, so now instead of batteries and panels you have gas cans... Lame

Then I found the ultimate solution.
A LP Outboard that has great reviews. A bit lighter than the Gas Out Boards but get this... it burns Propane, so just pack a bit larger tank on your raft and you are set. Seems like a no brainer... Check it out 2.5 or 5 or 9.9 HP models.

http://golehr.com/new/lehr-9-9-flyer/

Anyone have experience with the Lehr Company? What about with a motor on a raft?

Just thought I would weigh in on the solar powered/electric motor option. It doesn't sound like you are actually considering going for it, but, since you brought it up.... :)

This summer, I crossed Lake Powell with some friends on an entirely solar powered electric rig. Let's just say that you won't get pulled over for speeding! We would max out at about 6-7km/hour with our torqueedo. That was only if the sun was fully high in the sky with zero clouds or head winds. Even fully charged batteries would drain down super quick (like 30min) once the sun stopped hitting the panels.

Still a super awesome way to travel: quieter, cleaner, etc. Took us 6 days to go 160 miles. Had to wake up at 5am in order to catch all of the rays that we possible could to make our milage.

propane seems like an interesting solution to me. Gas motors smell terrible + you have to lug all that petrol for the entire trip. How much propane would it burn through for long milage, though?

Just for fun, here is a shot of our 22 foot rig. The rig belongs to Jacks Plastic Welding.

[/IMG]

Edited by davidspiegel - 05 Mar 2013 at 5:27pm

Aaron Williams has a lot of experience with outboards on rafts. He did a couple hundred miles on flat water last summer, I believe....